The Coronavirus pandemic is still spreading throughout the globe, which is repositioning sellers and buyer’s behavior. This lockdown is forcing many businesses to shut down or cut down their expenditure, as there are no or very less earnings. On the other hand consumers are spending wisely only on necessary items and have tightened their pockets. Many small businesses are forced to shut down indefinitely.
In terms of marketing, traditional marketing methods have taken a back seat during Covid-19 & companies are using digital marketing to reach to their consumers and will continue to do so in the coming months. The majority of business’s marketing plans have taken a hit because of cancellations of their industry events and seminars on a large scale. People are not meeting face to face & are shifting to virtual platform. Online webinar and events are getting organized. Social distancing is the new normal and internet is playing a major role to connect us with the outside world. Also during the lockdown due to lack of budget for marketing it is obvious to move towards digital.
According to the Forbes magazine, during this lockdown period, the average daily time spent by individuals on the internet has drastically increased by 50% to 70%.
How Digital Marketing will impact the business
As many businesses activities are paused e.g. Cinemas, Shopping Malls, Aviation Sector, Tourism Sectors, Hotel Industry, Restaurants. So, according to their customer type they are using the digital method to promote their services. This is the excellent way to connect with your customers. It is not necessary to spend huge amount on Google ads, there are organic ways also to market your product and services.
Social Media
Considering this lockdown situation and limited budgets, an organic and meaningful approach towards marketing is very useful. Now a days people are using social media very often. So if you will advertise your product on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn or Instagram, etc. it will definitely reach to the target customers. Few days back, PVR cinemas has effectively used digital marketing to promote their videos which shows all the safety precautions being taken by them for their customers in the post lockdown era. Many 5 star hotel properties have also started putting their action plans on social media to build confidence in their customer’s minds.
Search Engines
Search engines optimization (SEO) is a process of getting traffic from free and organic search results on search engines. It is unpaid service, which will help to increase your brand visibility and awareness.
Online Webinars
Organize virtual meetings and webinars to create awareness about your product and services to the potential clients. People can attend it while sitting at home and it is cost effective too. Business meetings and trainings are being conducted on virtual platforms at minimum cost and giving benefits to both the employer and employees.
Points to remember
During this time of crises, digital will predominantly became a mode to reach customers. However there are few important tips to be followed as this situation is tensed & sensitive.
- E- Commerce- Many offline brands are facing issues in selling their products. As of now E-commerce has grabbed the limelight. It is easier and quicker to compare & buy the products than physical shopping. Therefore, Covid-19 has pushed every business to join the E-commerce domain. It is better to invest on building trust, connecting with people and strong SEO for E-Commerce platform.
- Fear based Marketing- Selling your items and marketing it on the basis of fear during this time is not an appropriate measure to do so. It is very unethical process for a brand to take an advantage of the situation and exploit the customers. Spread awareness not fear.
- Direct & Clear Approach- Technology has made it easy to reach to the customers. Businesses must use the digital platforms to spread their brand reach. Digital interaction between the brand and consumer can be used to build trust and remove any kind of rumors / fake news regarding the products or services.
- Personalized support- During this tough time, your attention given to your customers matters a lot. Your personalized approach will leave the good impression and will increase your brand value.
Though many companies are using digital marketing from so many years, but still people were not aware about it much. However because of lockdown digital marketing is booming and offline methods are declining. Job opportunities for digital marketing are increasing now and one must have the knowledge about it to market his product & services.
Make the right choice
Due to covid pandemic people are spending most of the time on social media websites than ever, so it becomes necessary to advertise your product digitally. The whole world is in your pocket in the form of mobile phones. Therefore, digital marketing executives are in demand now. During this pandemic many professionals have lost their jobs & it has become harder for fresher’s to find jobs. However you can head to studying this course & can grow. This is the best time to start your career in digital marketing. Hence it is very important to search the right institute carefully. There are different types of courses available for Digital Marketing, so choose according to your need & excel in the same. It’s time to use the current situation in a positive manner & start you career in digital marketing.
Always remember, whatever choices you make, makes you. Choose Wisely.